The surname Berearde is derived from a nickname in the Old French. A broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, nickname surnames referred to a characteristic of the first person who used the name. They can describe the bearer's favored style of clothing, appearance, habits, or character.

In the pre-Christian era, many pagan gods and demi-gods were believed to be a mixture of animals and humans, such as the Greek god Pan who was the god of flocks and herds and was represented as a man with the legs, horns and ears of a goat. In the Middle Ages, anthropomorphic ideas, which attributed human qualities and form to gods or animals, were held about the characters of other living creatures. They were based on the creature's habits. Moreover, these associations were reflected in folk tales, mythology, and legends that portrayed animals behaving as humans. The Old French nickname Berearde, meant someone who was "as strong as a bear" having derived from Old French nickname berart.

Berearde Early Origins

The surname Berearde was first found in Brittany, where they held a family seat from very ancient times. They held a family seat in that province at Demaine where they were nobility from about the times of the Norman invasion of England in 1066 A.D.

Berearde Spelling Variations

Berearde Spelling Variations

The Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules, and therefore, Breton surnames have many spelling variations. Latin and French, which were the official court languages, were also influential on the spelling of surnames. The spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules. Therefore, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England after the Norman Conquest, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. The name has been spelled Berard, Barrard, Berad and others.

Berearde Early History

Berearde Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Berearde research. Another 129 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1789 and 1828 are included under the topic Early Berearde History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Berearde Early Notables (pre 1700)

Berearde Early Notables (pre 1700)

Another 20 words (1 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Berearde Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

The Great Migration

Research into various historical records has revealed some of first members of the Berearde family to immigrate North America: Francois Berard, who was settled in Quebec in 1748; and a Berard who sailed to Philadelphia in 1796.

Skordas, Guest. Ed. The Early Settlers of Maryland an Index to Names or Immigrants Complied from Records of Land Patents 1633-1680 in the Hall of Records Annapolis, Maryland. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1968. Print.

MacAulay, Thomas Babington. History of England from the Accession of James the Second 4 volumes. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1879. Print.

The Berearde Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Berearde Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.